Japanese boys’ school uniform inspires steamy new swimsuit for women

Move over, sailor suit swimwear. Now it’s the gakuran’s turn in the spotlight and water.

Schools uniforms are one of Japan’s favorite design motifs, and we’ve seen them serve as the inspiration for swimwear several times. However, it’s usually the female school uniform, the sailor suit, that those swimsuits are based on.

Japanese fashion label School Fiction has decided to go a different route by creating a swimsuit for women that takes its visual cues from the gakuran, the coat traditionally worn by male high school students.

Authentic gakuran are a button-up garment, and School Fiction’s gakuran swimsuit keeps that aesthetic with a row of gold-colored buttons along the front. However, most of those are just for show, as the zipper on the swimsuit’s back is what you need to use to put it on.

The two clasps of the straight collar can be undone, though, to show what an iconoclast rebel you are. The top button is also functional, while the rest are just for show.

▼ The second gakuran button used to be a common token of love that a guy would give his crush upon graduation, so the fact that it’s not really doing anything means you can give it to your sweetheart with no qualms.

▼ The swimsuit is made out of an 80/20 polyester/polyurethane blend material.

Putting new swimwear on the market in mid-September may seem like strange timing, but since School Fiction bills itself as a “nerd and fetish brand,” odds are the gakuran swimsuit is more intended for use at anime conventions, cosplay photo shoots, and in the privacy of consenting adults’ homes more so than in the water. While orders take roughly a month to ship, fan art is instantaneous.